


A Kept Promise

by FandomLifeTookMyHandAndSaidRUN



Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Assumes Daryl was not taken hostage, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Rickyl Writers' Group, Takes place after 6.16 but diverts from canon before 7.1, These boys need each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2017-01-30
Packaged: 2018-09-20 22:25:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9518651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FandomLifeTookMyHandAndSaidRUN/pseuds/FandomLifeTookMyHandAndSaidRUN
Summary: After the events of 6.16 but diverts from the events of 7.1.  Assumes Daryl was not taken prisoner by Negan, but the injured were taken to Hilltop.  Rick waits on Daryl to regain consciousness.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Going through my Google Docs stuff and came across this, most of my unfinished stuff is just "untitled" but this one came pre-titled. Win! Because choosing a title is half the battle, right? Anyway, I wrote this back in September before Season 7. I don't recall if I wanted to add more, or if this was it. So for now, assume this is the only chapter but I may add to it in the future if I feel so inspired.

Rick sat back in the chair, running his hands over his face willing the tiredness away.  He had been up for hours.  Days possibly.  He wasn’t really sure as day had bled into night, and back into day… Or had it?  Time was fluid, and he felt it slipping away like the tide as he sat there waiting for the man on the bed to regain consciousness.  Only hours before, he and the rest of the family had been prostrate on their knees in front of that cold blooded killer, Negan.  He had paced slowly back and forth in front of their line up, running his foul mouth, and finally taking a few swings with that barbed bat of his, taking out two of their own.  

Poor Maggie, in the throes of pregnancy related complications, had collapsed to the ground sobbing no longer able to hold herself up.  Daryl hit the ground unconscious soon after, weakened from blood loss and infection raging from an untended gunshot wound to his shoulder.  They had all been taken to Hilltop, where the only known doctor in the area tended to the sick and injured, offering safety and security and brief respite from agony endured on the road.  Aaron and others were allowed to bring the dead back home to Alexandria where they would be buried in the community’s cemetery.

But Rick, he stayed behind in Hilltop, unable to leave his lover’s side.  Daryl lay broken and bloodied, stark contrast to the crisp white sheets of the makeshift hospital bed.  His hair splayed out across the small pillow under his head.  He was undressed from the waist up, the shoulder cleansed and stitched and arm tied to him in a sling.  His hand resting on his abdomen rose and fell slowly with each breath.  His other hand, lay at his side, and Rick couldn’t resist running his fingertips over the scarred and swollen knuckles.  Feeling the lines that ran across his calloused palms, and running his hands up and down the length of his inner forearm, relishing in the warmth of the tender skin.  Daryl, injured and sick as he was, he was still alive.  He was still here.  He had yet to awaken from their ordeal, and Rick was adamant about being at his side when those sky blue eyes opened up.

Jesus had quietly stepped into the room, leaving a cup of coffee and a bowl of what appeared to be stew on the bedside table for him.  He even offered a change of clothes, to let Rick go use the shower to wash away the dirt and blood, but Rick had declined.  With a nod and a gentle smile, he exited, promising to return soon should the man be in need of anything.

It was mid-day, by Rick’s estimate, when Daryl finally began to stir.  First his breathing changed, his arms or leg would twitch or shift beneath the sheets.  Finally a groan and sharp intake of breath and his eyes popped open, and he struggled to throw off the sheet and sit up.

“Shhh, Daryl.  It’s alright!  We’re at Hilltop.  You’re okay, but your shoulder… Lie down, you don’t want to injure it further,” Rick’s hand was on Daryl’s chest, applying gentle pressure for the man to lie back down against the pillow.  “Give yourself a moment to wake up.”

With a frown, he laid back, pulling the sheet up over his injured arm, eyes roving over the sling and the gauze at his shoulder.  “We’ll get you home as soon.  Doc will be in to change your bandage, if the bleeding has stopped, we’re free to go.  Mm’kay?”

Daryl nodded, settling back further into the soft pillow.  “How’d we make out… We all still here?” Daryl’s voice was rough, and heavy with sleep.  He reached his free hand out to Rick, seeking connection, something solid to hold onto. 

“We lost two…” Rick sighed.  “Abe.  And Glenn.”

“No…” Daryl whispered, shaking his head refusing to believe it.  “No… but Maggie?  Oh my God, Rick…”  He turned his head away, looking out the window to the trees beyond.  His eyes burned, thinking of the child that grew in Maggie’s womb that would never get to meet his father.  And Glenn had deserved to be that child’s father, he was one of the last true good men in the world.  And now he was gone.  The constant barrage of losses had already been weighing very heavily on the hunter, and this was nearly more than he could bear.

Rick, sensing Daryl’s despair, reached out and brushed the hair from Daryl’s face.  “Hey, we’re still here,” he whispered, running a finger under Daryl’s chin to turn his face toward him.  “We’re still here.”  Daryl swallowed down the emotion, but his brows still furrowed.  He nodded, squeezing Rick’s hand, “Don’t make it any easier.”

“Of course not.  But when we get home, we can take a moment.  Just… don’t slip away from me.  I thought I’d lost you after Atlanta.”

Daryl sighed, leaning back into the pillows and threw an arm over his eyes.  “I never should’ve-”

“Stop,” Rick interrupted.  His voice was hard, and his eyes glinted with momentary anger.  “We can’t change what happened.  And placing blame… it’s counterproductive.  I need you here with me, Daryl.  I don’t know how to make you understand that.  But this… if you wallow, I’m afraid you’ll fall too far, too fast, and too deep to come back to me.”

“But, if I hadn’t ‘ve run off half cocked-”

Rick put a finger to Daryl’s lips effectively stopping his words.  “I ain’t no saint.  Lord knows I’ve made a ton of mistakes.  But the choices we make?  In this world, we don’t always have the privilege of time.  We aren’t able to plan ahead all the time, but we do the best with what we’ve got.  And if it blows up in our faces, we have to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps and move on.  You are wanted, you are needed, and you are loved.  By more than just myself.  You’re still here...Will you come back to Alexandria with me?  This… bullshit with Negan.  I can’t… I can’t do it alone.”

Daryl had pushed his arm back up to his forehead, and was at least looking Rick in the eye now.  His own were red rimmed and his face flush with emotion he just couldn’t hide.

“I need you, Daryl.”  Rick shook his head and shrugged, “You’re my grounding force.  How many times have you disarmed me just by calling my name?  I know we both need to heal some, inside and out, but… we’re stronger together than we are apart.  I don’t know about you, but-”

“Come ‘ere,” Daryl tugged on Rick’s arm, pulling the man in and wrapping his one good arm around him.  His fingers running through the curls at the nape of Rick’s neck, he all but nuzzled against Rick’s neck.  “Ain’t nowhere else I’d rather be.  Just… be patient, with me?”

The tension melted from Rick, and he softened against Daryl, still holding himself off Daryl’s injured arm.  He pulled back enough to kiss Daryl’s hair, and then touched his lips gently to Daryl’s.  “If you’ll afford me the same… I promise.”

Daryl settled back against the pillows once more, giving Rick a soft smile as the man sat back in his chair.  A moment later came a few raps at the door, a pause, and then the door slowly opened.  Paul walked in with a tray of food, some fresh gauze, and some pain killers.  “Hey! Glad to see you’re awake, man.  Doc is with Maggie right now, but said if you aren’t feverish and if that wound is done bleeding, then you’re free to go.  Mind if I check it out?”  He set the tray down on the bedside table and waited for Daryl’s permission to proceed. Daryl turned to Rick, who was still holding his hand, and gave it a squeeze and then interlocked their fingers.  Turning back to Paul, have him a quick nod.

As Paul removed the gauze and cleaned the wound, he chatted with Rick making some preliminary plans to attend to Negan’s demands.  Daryl watched and listened, and admired as the set of Rick’s shoulders strengthened, and the man’s chest puffed out a bit.  The inner strength and wiles returning, the fierce determination gleaming in his eye.  He was getting his fight back, and heaven knows they’d be needing it in the days to come.  It was this strength that Daryl gleaned, and that would help settle him back on track.  It was Rick’s love that would help heal the hurt in his heart, just the same as his would do for Rick. He was right, together they would be a stronger force to contend with.

  
  



End file.
